


Say Something

by Star-Spangled-Beauty (rainbowcows13)



Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Angst, Break Up, Cheating, I really am, I'm Sorry, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-12-31
Updated: 2014-12-28
Packaged: 2018-01-06 20:41:27
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 6,467
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1111293
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rainbowcows13/pseuds/Star-Spangled-Beauty
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Steve and Tony get into an argument before a gala, Tony makes bad decisions, and stuff goes bad.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is what happens when I listen to sad songs over and over again. Title based off of the song "Say Something" by A Great Big World.

In hindsight, Tony knew he shouldn't have done what he had done that night. But wasn't hindsight always 20/20? He knew there was no reason to have a fight with Steve. One moment it was Tony complaining about not wanting to go the gala that night. The next moment, it was Steve and him going at each others throats. The moment still played harshly in his mind.

"What do you mean you don't want to go to the gala tonight?" Steve asked.

"I just don't. I have many other things that I could be doing right now other than walking around a room, aimlessly talking to people I can't stand", Tony replied.

Steve looked taken aback. "You do realize that this gala is for sick children don't you? The money that's being made from this gala is going to children who'll need it to live. Hell, you're the one who's funding it. How would you not go?"

"I told you Steve. I have plenty of things that need to be worked on in the workshop."

"Are you kidding me right now?" Steve shouted, "You've been in that workshop for weeks! Maybe it'd be good to take a break for awhile!"

"I think everyone will be fine", Tony dismissed.

"Really! How do you think I've been feeling, huh? I've been going down there everyday hoping that I could convince you to come up and join the rest of the group, hoping that maybe I could convince you to spend some time with me. But I guess building that armor was more important than your husband. Am I right?" Steve was trying hard to not get hysterical, but towards the end he couldn't help himself.

"You've got to be kidding me", Tony said, passing his hand across his face. "Steve, I _have_ to make those suits. If anything like New York-"

"Tony!" Steve interrupted. "I told you that after New York was going to be tough. It was tough for everybody. But not having you there didn't help me. I needed you and everytime you shut me out."

"Why are you being so selfish!" Tony replied. "All I've heard in the past ten minutes is how much _I_ didn't help you or how much _I_ didn't pay attention to you! When did it become all about you?!"

"You're really trying to ask me that question?!" Steve shouted back. "I'm not trying to make it all about me! When we got married it should have became all about us! It should have been about how much _we_ could help each other out and how _we_ would always be there for each other! I never tried to make it about me! You tried to make it about you!"

"I was trying to make things that would keep me safe for the one thing that cared about me! It was never about me! I was doing everything for you!"

Steve sighed deeply. "If you're really going to do something for me, Tony, go to the gala. Then I'll see what you mean, because at the moment I don't." With that Steve left the room. 

"Fine!" Tony shouted, "I'll go to the fucking gala!"

When Tony arrived, his brain screamed at him to not touch the alcohol. He would've said that he tried not to, but that would've been a lie. He knew that anyone who really watched him would've said that he came in the door, headed straight for the bar, and proceeded to down whatever alcoholic beverage that was in front of him. He hated the way Steve had made him feel and he wanted to punish Steve for what he had done. So, he continued to drink.

When the tall, hot blonde came over, he was way past "drunk" and nearing "excessive, sloppy drunk". He remembered talking to her one minute and the next he was lying in a bed while she put her dress back on and proceeded to leave. After that, he passed out.

"Tony! Wake up!" Steve shouted.

"Jesus fucking Christ. Don't you know that when someone has a hangover you're not supposed to yell?"

Steve just threw a newspaper at him and then crossed his arms. "Look at this right now and you better be honest with me about what happened."

Tony turned onto his back and then picked up the newspaper. On the front cover was the blonde he had an affair with the night before. As soon as he realized what it said, he froze. 

"Why did you do it, Tony? Was it because of our argument?"

Tony just remained silent.

"Say something! Please, Tony!" Steve begged as tears began to form in his eyes.

"I don't know", Tony replied quietly, still staring at the headline of the newspaper.

"I thought we loved each other, Tony. I thought you'd always be there for me, just as I'd always be there for you. Last night, I really thought about our argument and I thought you did too. I thought we would move on from it like we always do."

"I did love you, Steve", Tony said. "I still do."

"How am I supposed to believe that after what happened last night?" Steve asked.

"I'm sorry. I-"

"I just don't know if sorry is going to cut it anymore. I want it to, but I never thought this would happen", Steve interrupted and paused to take a deep breath. "I think I should leave for a little bit."

Tony started to cry. "No, please don't go."

Steve continued. "I think it would be best if we didn't see each other for awhile. Fury's asked me if I wanted to go on a three month op. I've decided to take it and hopefully we can see how things go from there."

"Steve, please don't go. I need you."

"I needed you too, Tony, but you messed up and I need you to know that I'm not okay with that. I don't want to go, but I think it's the best thing for both of us", Steve replied as tears began to run down his face. 

"When- when are you leaving?" Tony asked.

"One of Shield's cars is going to pick me up in the next five minutes and I really need to get my stuff prepared", Steve sadly answered. "I'm sorry, Tony. I love you so much, but I have to say goodbye."

Steve then left the room, grabbed his things, and got into the car that came to pick him up and was gone.

Tony sat in the bed, dumbfounded. Until he came to his senses and tore across the bed, through the bedroom, all the way down through the tower, through the lobby, and out the doors with tears streaming down his face and his voice screaming Steve's name until his voice went out. He then collapsed to the ground, finally realizing that Steve truly was gone.

  



	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A lot of you guys wanted me to continue this. Here you go!

"Natasha? Why are you calling me? I'm in the middle of an op."

Well, hello to you too, Steve. Don't worry, the line is secure", Natasha replied then added, "And I'm calling you because of Tony."

Steve looked around to see if anyone was nearby. Nobody was, but he wasn't up for a conversation right now. "Now's not a good-"

"He's not doing well", Natasha interrupted.

"What? Has he been drinking?"

"Only water."

"Has he been eating?"

"Only when he's threatened."

"How about the workshop. Has he been locking himself in the workshop?"

"No. He hasn't been down there since before...well, you know", Natasha stated carefully. "He's just been lying in bed, practically comatosed. Except for the nights he wakes up screaming."

"What?" Steve was completely paying attention now. "Is he having nightmares?"

"Yes. They don't happen as often as the nightmares he had from New York are, but they're worse."

"What do you mean?"

"He wakes up screaming your name", Natasha answered.

Steve sat in silence. He had no idea what to do or say.

"He needs you Steve and, if I'm not mistaken, you need him too."

Steve started to tear up. "Natasha, I can't. Not right now. I want to, but I can't."

Steve heard her sigh softly into the receiver. "You can, Steve. You can." With that, she hung up the phone.

Steve said a quick goodbye anyway and hung up the phone. He then sighed heavily and sunk to the floor. He wanted to go to Tony, hell, he was body was practically screaming at him to go  _running_  to Tony. The one thing that was stopping him though, was what he would do if he saw Tony again. Would Tony love him like he did before or will he just betray Steve again? Steve didn't know if he could take that right now.

"You alright, Captain?" Steve heard from across the room.

Steve quickly stood up, wiped his tears, and responded with a steady, "Yes, sir."

"Did you receive another call today?" Fury implored.

"Yes, sir", Steve answered.

"You should go see him", Fury stated.

Steve didn't reply.

Fury sighed. "I'm taking you off the mission-"

"Sir!" Steve interrupted. "Please don't. I know I haven't been entirely focused lately, but I'll fix it, I promise. You don't need to do this-"

"Captain", Fury continued. "I'm doing this for the good of the team. I need both of you to be focused on what's at hand. I'm letting you go home and talk things out. Black Widow and Hawkeye will be coming in your place, so both of you don't have to worry about anyone else." He then started leaving the room, but as he reached the door added, "That's an order, Captain."

Steve stayed for a few seconds, staring at the door and then went to pack his bags.

* * *

"Tony. Tony, get up", Tony heard as he slowly woke up.

"I'm not kidding, Tony. Get up." Tony recognized the voice as Natasha's and proceeded to move.

"I hate to say it, but I'm done taking care of you. This was your fault and you need to do something about it, so I've set up for you to go to an AA meeting. Now get up and take a shower", she said and then left the room. "And if you're not in there in the next ten minutes, you're not going to like what happens!"

Tony slowly got up and into the shower. He hated AA meetings, but if he should do it for anyone or anything, he figured he should do it for Steve. That's if he ever came back. At this moment, Tony figured he wouldn't and as much as Tony wanted him to stay he had been coming to terms with why he left. Tony was an asshole and he knew it. He never should've done what he did, but he did, and now he's probably ruined any chance of a lifetime together with Steve.

He turned on the water in the shower hot enough to burn and then let it beat down on his back. He realized that he hadn't wanted a drink since that night. The only thing he wanted to do was go back into bed and sleep. In his dreams, he still had Steve and they were happy. He wasn't having nightmares. The "nightmares" came when he was awake and realized that Steve wasn't there and they weren't happy. 

Somewhere in between his thoughts, he had washed his hair and body. Twenty minutes later, he left the shower, wrapped a towel around his waist, and then looked in the mirror. He looked terrible. His famous clean-cut facial hair was now turning into a bit of a beard, the circles under his eyes were dark, and he looked thinner.

Taking his razor out from under the sink, he proceeded to trim all of his facial hair. He didn't feel like trying to make it how it usually was, it was too much work. After that, he brushed his teeth and then left the bathroom to see a suit sitting on his bed. It was a grey suit with a light blue shirt sitting next to it. There was a tie, but he didn't feel like wearing it.

Tony proceeded to put on the suit and then looked in the mirror. He looked a little younger, but he also looked thinner, and like he'd lost his liveliness. He turned away from it immediately and went to sit on the edge of the bed. 

A minute later, Natasha came back into the room. "Oh good, you're dressed." Then she added, "Also, you look nice clean-cut."

"Thank you", Tony replied. 

"You slept through breakfast, but there's a sandwich waiting for you in the kitchen", Natasha said and went to leave the room.

"Natasha, wait", Tony started.

"Yes?"

"I'm sorry. For everything", Tony began and then decided to clarify, "Thank you for being here and taking care of me."

"You're welcome, but I don't think I'm the one you should be apologizing to", Natasha stated.

Tony just shook his head in agreement. 

Natasha left the room and Tony followed. 

* * *

After Tony finished eating, he decided that it would be a good idea to head to the meeting. 

He decided to take one of the convertibles and drive with the top down. Especially, since Natasha had told him to get some fresh air. He had to admit that it felt nice to be out of the tower for a little bit. 

The place where the meeting was being held at wasn't too far, so the drive wasn't that long. It was being held in one of the back rooms of a church. Which one, Tony didn't know. Steve probably would though. There were about ten people, including Tony, that were seated in a circle in the middle of the room. They all talked about who they were, that they were an alcoholic, and what they had done that had gotten them to be at the meeting today. 

Since Tony was the new member of the group for that day, they decided it would be best for him to introduce himself to the rest of the group.

"Hi. My name is Tony Stark and I'm an alcoholic. I'm here today because I drank too much, got drunk, and ended up cheating on my husband", Tony said quickly and while staring at a spot on the floor.

"Hello, Tony", the group said back in unison.

The rest of the meeting went by the same way and at the end, Tony received a 24 hour alcohol-free token. The leader of the group had told him that if he stayed sober for a week he would get another one, then a month, then three months, and so on. 

As Tony was leaving, he played with the token in his hands. He felt that he could do this. He knew that there were going to be times where it would be hard, but he remembered that he should try, if not for his sake, then for Steve's.

When Tony got home, he changed out of his suit and into a black tank top and some old jeans. Today felt like a good day to get some work done.

* * *

 Steve arrived at the front of Stark Tower the next afternoon. As he stepped out of the car he had to admit that he was happy he was home, but the realization that it would be different and tense dampened the thought a little bit.

He said thank you to the driver of the car, grabbed his duffle bag out of the trunk, and headed into the building. 

"Welcome back, Captain Rogers", Grace, the receptionist in the lobby, said with a smile.

"Thank you, Grace", Steve replied back as he went straight to the elevator that went up to the Avengers living quarters.

He scanned the card Tony had given him when the Avengers first arrived at the tower and when the elevator opened, he stepped inside.

"Nice to see you home safe, Captain Rogers", Jarvis stated.

"Thank you, Jarvis. It's good to be back", Steve said but kind of regretted his choice of words toward the end. He didn't know that yet.

"You're welcome", Jarvis replied.

Steve stayed quiet until the elevator reached the floor he needed. When the doors opened, he stepped out and noticed that nobody was in the living room, the kitchen, or the study. So, he headed to the master bedroom to see that nobody was in there either.

"Hello?" He called out only to receive no answer. 

"Jarvis, where is everybody? Other than Natasha and Clint, I already know where they are."

"Dr. Banner is in Calcutta, helping the effort to heal their ill and Master Stark is working is his workshop, Captain", Jarvis replied.

Steve kind of shrugged his shoulders. He should've figured Tony would be in there. 

"How long has he been in there?"

"A little less than twenty-four hours."

Well, that wasn't bad, right? He'd definitely been in there for longer.

Steve decided it would best to put his stuff done before he went down into the workshop. He really didn't think it was a good idea to put it in the master bedroom though. He loved Tony dearly, but he wasn't sure if he'd be able to sleep with him again. So, he moved his stuff to his old room. He had to admit that it definitely was different than the master bedroom. He almost hadn't realized how different.

For instance, the bedspread in the master bedroom was white while in Steve's room they were blue. The floor in the master bedroom was a light gray, while in his room it was blue. The furniture in the master bedroom was more modern, while Steve's furniture had more of a classic feel. Actually, the more Steve looked at it, the more he felt that he was going back in time. He just shook his head and set his bag on the bed. He was just a little tired from the trip back.

After that, Steve decided to go down to the workshop. He thought it would be a good idea to tell Tony that he was home. He passed through the living room since the stairs to the workshop were fairly close, but stopped when he saw a metal circle that looked like a big coin sitting on the coffee table. He'd never seen it before, but it was bronze with "24 hours" written on both sides. Steve looked around it but didn't see anything else on it and out it down. It was probably something of Clint's. He was pretty sure he'd seen something like that in Clint's room once or something.

Steve headed down the stairs and to the door to the workshop, punched in his code to unlock it, and stepped inside. The room was golden, lit by the setting sun coming through the windows. Steve looked to the main workbench to see that Tony wasn't there. Jarvis had said he was in here before and Steve knew that he hadn't come upstairs, so he had to have been in the room. Just as Steve began to move through the rest of the room, he heard a soft snore come from the far side. The blond let out a soft sigh and went to that side of the room.

Tony was sprawled out across the futon that was in the back of the workshop. His shoes were off, his welding goggles were on the floor underneath where his hand was hanging over the edge, and the blanket that Steve had given him for Christmas two years ago was tangled around his waist and legs. Steve had to laugh a little. If Tony wasn't clinging to you like an octopus while he was sleeping, he was trying to take up the entire bed.

Steve grabbed one of the chairs in the workshop and sat down next to him. Why did everything have to go bad so fast? Even though Steve was still hurt, he still loved Tony. He loved his smile, his laugh, his charm, his personality, hell, even his jokes sometimes. Steve did miss him while he was gone. He hated every second of the mission and his mind was only on Tony the entire time. How would he fix this? Could they fix this? Steve didn't get to much time to think though because he then heard Tony softly say his name. 

"Tony?" Steve called back softly. 

"Where are you Steve? Why did you leave?"

Shit, Steve thought. It was a nightmare, the one Natasha was talking about probably.

Steve gently shook Tony's shoulder. "Tony, Tony wake up."

"Steve? Steve, where are you?"

Steve shook a little harder. "Come on, Tony. It's just a dream, wake up."

Tony stirred at Steve's touch and then jolted awake. 

"Whoa. Hey, calm down. It's okay", Steve said trying to get Tony to focus.

Tony realized where he was and then turned to whoever was talking to him. "Steve?"

"Yeah."

"Bu- but you said you were leaving for 3 months."

"Fury sent me home early. Are you okay?" Steve asked trying to bring the subject back to what happened. 

"I'm fine", Tony replied as he began to untangle himself from the blanket. "Why did he send you home early?"

Steve sighed. He guessed that there was no way he was getting out of this now. "He thinks we should talk."

Tony froze for a second and then replied, "Oh."

Steve made a sound of agreement. 

"I'm sorry", Tony replied looking at the floor at first but then looking at Steve when he added, "I really am."

"Me too", Steve replied. "I shouldn't have left."

Tony looked back down at the floor.

"How about", Steve started but paused. He wasn't exactly sure what he was trying to say, but he went with it. "How about we try to move on. It's not going to be easy, but I'm willing to try."

"Really?" Tony looked at Steve in disbelief. 

"Yes."

Tony exhaled deeply. "Oh, thank you."

"What?" Steve asked wondering why Tony seemed so relieved.

"I was seriously preparing myself for a break-up speech."

"Oh, God", Steve replied suddenly realizing that he too would've sighed in relief. "I don't think I could do that."

 Tony paused for a second and then replied, "That's good."

Steve figured it was time to change the subject, the atmosphere was beginning to fill with some tension. "You shaved your goatee", Steve stated.

"Yeah, I really needed to shave and didn't want to work at trying to reshape it at the time", Tony replied. "Why, do you not like it?"

"It makes you look younger."

"Are you saying I looked old?!" Tony exclaimed in a joking manner. 

"No", Steve smiled. "It's different, that's all." 

Before another awkward silence began to settle in, Steve decided he should probably go. "Well, I'm going to unpack. Do you need anything?"

Tony wiped some grease off of a wrench on the workbench. "You do that, and I'm fine."

Steve nodded his head and headed to the elevator. 

"Oh, Steve", Tony called out, looking at Steve, "It's good to see you again."

"You, too", Steve replied and then stepped into the elevator.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was going to try and finish this story in this chapter, but I realized that this is a little overdue. There might be another 1-2 chapters. Let me know what you think. Thanks!


	3. Chapter 3

Steve received a call from Natasha before he left the workshop. So, as he looked at his phone while sitting in the living room, he figured he should call her back. Even though Tony was in the workshop, Steve moved to his bedroom just in case.

Steve sat on his bed and dialed her number. She answered on the second ring.

"Hello?"

"Hi, Natasha. It's Steve."

"Oh good. I was hoping you'd call back soon", she said and then continued, "So, have you talked to him yet?"

"Yeah", Steve replied. "Honestly, it went better than I hoped, but it's gonna take time. It took a little bit to get a conversation going and there were a few times that it got kind of awkward."

"It's going to be like that for a little bit. You both just have to get back into the swing of things. Just don't push anything on him, it could potentially ruin things. Don't worry I told him the same thing", Natasha stated.

"Alright", Steve agreed. "God, I want this to work out so bad."

"I know", Natasha said sympathetically into the phone. "Steve? Do you still love him?"

"With all my heart."

"Then you'll be fine and watch for the bumps in the road. Trust me, there will be some", Natasha recommended.

"How do you know this?" Steve asked. 

"I've been in love before Steve", Natasha said but didn't elaborate. "Now I've got to go. Call me if you need me, okay?"

"I will. Goodbye."

"Bye, Steve."

Steve hung up the phone and flopped down on the bed. Looking at the ceiling tiles, he wondered if Natasha was right.

* * *

 

After Steve left, Tony couldn't go back to work. Tony was so nervous that he started pacing back and forth. Steve seemed like he was in a better mood, but he was quite good at hiding emotions when needed. 

"Jarvis?" Tony called out.

"Yes, sir?"

How well do you think that went?"

"Captain Rogers seemed to be nervous, but no feelings of anger or hatred were registered", Jarvis replied.

Tony breathed a sigh of relief. "Well that's good right?"

"I would presume so, sir."

Tony's stomach grumbled. Tony hadn't eaten anything for the past couple of hours, but when he went to his usual cabinet of food, it was empty. This meant that Tony had to go upstairs to the kitchen. Damn.

"Jarvis, where is Steve and what time is it?"

"Captain Rogers is located in his bedroom and the time is currently seven thirty-four p.m."

Tony figured that Steve wouldn't be coming out anytime soon, so he adding some designs to be fabricated, locked up the workshop, and headed to the kitchen.

He was kind of in the mood for pasta. Even though he had no idea how to cook it, he decided to try his hand. Steve was usually the one who made pasta, but Tony didn't want oto bother him anymore than necessary. The instructions seemed pretty self-explanatory.

Yeah, that was a lie. First, Tony put the pasta in the water before it started to boil. Then, he turned the temperature on the stove too high and wasn't paying attention, so the water boiled away. So all Tony was left with was burnt pasta. He thought he was going to eat it until he smelt it and then he threw it away in the small trashcan near the fridge. He settled on making a nice peanut butter and jelly sandwich.

Of course, this would be the time that Steve walked into the kitchen.

"What the hell is that smell? Did you burn something?"

Tony sighed but continued eating his sandwich. "I tried to cook pasta. The evidence is in the trashcan."

"Oh", Steve said and tried not to laugh. Tony was never a great cook. "I can make you something else if you want", he offered.

"No, thanks. This PB&J will suffice", Tony replied just before he took another bite.

"You sure?" Steve double checked.

"Yeah, I'm probably going to go to bed anyway. I don't want to eat a big meal."

"Oh, ok." If Steve showed a feeling of hurt, Tony didn't notice. 

When Tony finished his sandwich, he went to the sink, rinsed out his dish, and placed it in the dishwasher along with the pot from the pasta incident.

"Goodnight, Steve", Tony haphazardly waved behind him as he walked to his bedroom.

"Goodnight, Tony", Steve said as Tony disappeared around the corner.

This was going to be a lot harder than Steve thought.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a little shorter than I wanted, but my muse suddenly hit me today and I wanted to use it before it ran away again. I hope you're all enjoying the series and I hope you continue to enjoy the series. Just a quick note, feedback is greatly appreciated and will help me make this piece better. Thanks for reading.


	4. Chapter 4

Steve ate dinner alone in the tower for the first time in a long time. 

He figured it wouldn't have been a good idea to stop Tony from going to bed. Who knew how long it was since Tony had a good night's sleep. (Well Jarvis did.)

After he finished eating he decided to run the dishwasher and then watch some t.v. He wasn't really tired yet. 

As he was sitting on the couch, barely watching the TV, he found it hard to believe that just twenty-four hours ago he was lying in the barracks at Shield, dreading the moment he would come home and see Tony again. He wanted everything to be normal again so bad, but he knew that not everything was going to be the same as before. Things were going to get awkward before they got better. Hell, Natasha said she expected it, so why shouldn't Steve. 

When he thought back to that night, he knew it was his fault. He felt stupid for not going to the gala that night, he should have been there to at least make sure that Tony wouldn't do anything stupid and keep the alcohol to a minimum. The more he thought about what he should have, could have, would have done, the more he realized that there was no point. Things were the way they are now and nothing could change that. The only thing they both could do now is to either fix their relationship or give it up. 

"Is your marriage needing a little help?" a sharply-dressed woman on the television asked. Steve diverted his thoughts to pay attention to what she was saying. 

"Well look no further", she announced. "I'll help you and your significant other back to loving each other the way you once did. Come see us at one of our five locations. Voted as one of the best Therapy/Counseling Services in the tri-state area!"

When the number for the place came up on the screen, Steve wrote it down on the notepad usually used to write groceries. It seemed like a good idea. It would probably be better than a Shield therapist, right?

* * *

Tony couldn't sleep. He thought it would be a good idea to go to bed early, because he couldn't deal with Steve not wanting to end their relationship.

The whole time Steve was gone, Tony believed that he would come back and tell Tony that it was over and that he wanted a divorce. When Steve said he wanted to try again it took all of Tony to not fall to his knees and not cry in relief.  The only bad thing that came from Steve coming back was that Tony didn't just have to live with what he did with himself anymore. He had to live with what he did with Steve, which he knew could be worse. 

Natasha told him to go to his Alcoholics Anonymous meetings and that doing that could help Tony gain Steve's trust and respect back. Tony agreed to this request. He was finished with alcohol, the only thing it did for him was make him lose something important anytime he indulged in it. It happened with Pepper and it almost happened with Steve. Tony was not going to let it happen again.

After vowing that to himself, Tony actually fell asleep and slept well for once.

* * *

 Tony woke up to the delicious smell of fresh coffee and waffles. Realizing how hungry he was, he left to go investigate.

Steve was standing by the waffle iron when Tony came in, moving a large Belgian waffle to a dish.

"Good morning", Steve said as he heard Tony come in and head straight for the coffee machine.

Tony just grunted in response. 

"I know you're not entirely awake yet, but I want you to hear me out", Steve stated as he put the waffle in front of Tony's seat. "I think we should see a counselor."

Tony looked up. "Like a shrink?"

"No. Like a marriage counselor."

Tony stared at an invisible spot on the table, in thought.

"Would you be willing to try?" Steve asked, sincerely hoping in his heart that Tony wouldn't say no.

Tony hesitated, still thinking, and then shook his head yes.

"Thank you. The first appointment is on Wednesday at 11 a.m. Is that good for you?"

Tony felt like he might have had something he had to do then, but he couldn't remember. "Yeah, that should be fine."

* * *

 

The next couple of days went by fairly well. Tony and Steve mostly stayed away from each other. Tony stayed in the workshop for most of the day, keeping his mind busy and occasionally coming up for about twenty minutes to get something to eat. Steve, on the other hand, kept himself busy around the tower by working out, reading, drawing, and watching movies. 

When Wednesday came, Steve went to remind Tony about their appointment, but when he went to find him, he wasn't anywhere. Steve figured he probably had a meeting and instead sent Tony a text reminding him of the appointment and where the place was. 

Steve left for the place at about 10:30 since it was so close. 

The counseling center was located in a building filled with all sorts of other places to go for therapy. Shock therapy, physical therapy, emotional therapy, the list went on and on until Steve found the room he needed. 

When Steve entered the office, he was a little early, but that gave him plenty of time to fill out the paperwork that the place needed. 

A middle-aged lady came out when it was time for their appointment, but Tony was nowhere to be seen. Steve went into the back anyway. He was sure that if Tony arrived, they would direct him to the back.

"Good morning, Steve", the lady said as she shook Steve's hand. "My name is Mary."

"Good morning, Mary", Steve said.

"You may have a seat on the couch by the wall", she announced. "Do you know where your husband is?"

"He's probably just running late", Steve replied. "He's pretty busy."

"I see. Well do you mind if I ask you a few questions while we wait?"

"No ma'am, go ahead", said Steve.

"How long have Tony and you been married?"

"A little over two years", Steve answered.

"Okay and how long have you both been having problems in your relationship?"

Steve hesitated to think. "About a month or so ago."

"Would you care to tell me how these problems started?"

Steve told her everything that happened the night of the gala a month ago. Mary gave him plenty of time and listened intently to everything she heard. Before Steve knew it, the appointment was over. Mary had stated that she really couldn't help anymore without Tony there.

The appointment lasted for about ninety minutes and Tony still wasn't there by the time Steve left. 

Steve was home for another thirty minutes before Tony walked in through the door.

"Where the hell were you?" Steve asked as soon as Tony came in.

"I-", Tony started.

"You know what, it doesn't even matter", Steve interrupted. "You never showed up at the appointment even though I sent you the time and the address. Do you know how bad that made me look Tony? Do you understand how embarrassing that was for me?"

"I'm-", Tony started to apologize.

"Don't say you're sorry to me right now. I don't believe you", Steve said angrily. "What had to have been so important for you to miss out on this one thing? Huh? What was so goddamn important?"

Tony waited to make sure that Steve wouldn't interrupt him again. When Tony realized that he wouldn't, he reached into his pocket and pulled out something that resembled a coin. "This", was all Tony said before he entered the elevator and left.

Steve was confused until he read what the coin said.  _Alcoholics Anonymous, Alcohol-Free for 1 week._ _  
_

"Shit", Steve said, clutching the coin.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Uggghhh, I'm sorry for all of the broken hearts this story is causing.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ugh, well I got out something. It's not good, but at least it's better than nothing. There will be one more chapter after this. I have it all planned out so it shouldn't be too long before I get it out.
> 
> Also, sorry for the really heavy dialogue.

"Tony, open up", Steve requested at the workshop door. Both of Steve's codes, regular and override, did not seem to be working and the workshop windows were blacked out.

As much as Tony wanted to ignore him, Steve couldn't just leave things the way they were. He needed to talk to Tony bad.

"Go away", came Tony's muffled voice from inside.

Steve sighed. He knew this wasn't going to be easy.

"Tony, please? I'm really sorry."

No reply.

Steve sat down on the floor with his back leaning against one of the darkened windows. 

"I didn't know and I'm really sorry about it. I knew I shouldn't have done the marriage counseling. I mean, could you see the crazy headline the newspapers would give?" Steve sighed, "I'm sorry. That was bad", and then proceeded to go back to his original thought.

"I shouldn't have left. It was wrong of me to just leave you like that with hardly an explanation. It was also incredibly selfish of me. I shouldn't-", Steve confessed.

"Steve", Tony softly interrupted, standing just outside of the workshop door. Steve hadn't even heard him come out and immediately stood up to see him, guilt written all over his face.

Tony looked down toward the floor. "If anyone should be sorry it should be me. I never should have did what I did in the first place. If I didn't, we would still be okay and I hate myself everyday because of it. I never should have done that to you. It wasn't right." Tony moved to look Steve in the eyes. "You mean everything to me Steve and when you left I hated every fiber of my being, but I knew I deserved it", Tony stated. 

"Tony-", Steve started, but stopped when he saw that Tony wasn't finished yet.

"I owe everything to Natasha. She helped me while you were gone and was the one to get me into A.A. Thanks to her, I haven't had a drink since the night of the gala and I plan to never have another drink ever again. When you got back, I assumed that she had told you. I'm sorry I never did."

Tony stopped and sighed, then looked at Steve to gauge his reaction. 

Steve slightly smiled. "I'm really proud of you Tony."

Tony shrugged modestly, "I'm trying."

"And that's good", Steve assured. 

"Thank you", Tony replied quietly.

There was a slight pause until Tony decided to speak up. "Um, if you don't mind me asking, I mean you don't have to if you don't want to, I'd be fine if you didn't want to, that's perfectly fine-", Tony rambled.

"Tony", Steve said softly, hoping to help him focus. "What's up?"

"Sorry." Tony cleared his throat and then tried again. "Would you like to be my sponsor and come to my next meeting?"

Steve instantly smiled and then moved to give Tony a hug. "I'd love to."

Tony smiled back in relief and leaned into Steve's embrace. He'd missed this. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Also, feel free to check out my tumblr:
> 
> chillysoldier.tumblr.com

**Author's Note:**

> I'm so sorry, guys. *hands box of tissues* I really was trying to not write this, but my mind just kept coming back to the idea and I couldn't help it. Again, I'm really sorry.


End file.
